Tag: Trump administration

  • Black History Month celebrations in a time of erasure

    Worshipers celebrate Black History Month service at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury on Feb.15. Credit: Jiaxu Liu

    While Black History Month is observed this year in Boston and beyond, the Trump administration has taken actions that many say attempt to erase aspects of Black and other histories. 

    In January, the administration directed the National Park Service to remove an exhibit on slavery from a site in Philadelphia. Last year, the president issued multiple executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion policies on college campuses and workplaces. In response, this year’s Black History Month celebrations have taken on an added tone of determination and resistance.

    As organizers prepare for Women’s History Month next month and Asian-American and Pacific Islander heritage month in May, those celebrations are also taking on new meaning this year.

    During a recent service at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury, ministers and worshipers said preserving and sharing Black history is more important than ever.

    “This is definitely a time where we’re doubling down,” said Isaiah Briggs, a minister of the Twelfth Baptist Church during a recent interview. “We’re saying …you know our history. Although they’re trying to erase it, you can’t erase the legacy and the way that it’s impacted us today.”

    He said it’s important that the church and others who celebrate Black History “keep this history alive” and that they can no longer rely on the government “to preserve our stories.”

    “We as the community, and particularly as a church, have a sacred obligation to not just preserve the stories, but to tell them to the next generation in a way that can encourage them, [empower and guide] them in a time [when it’s most needed],” said Briggs.  

    The church has taken on a recent effort, by introducing a “luncheon storytelling” program that allows senior members to take the stage and share their personal experiences. One speaker described participating in bus boycotts in Alabama; another recalled attending segregated schools in Massachusetts, where she had to walk through white neighborhoods to reach the high school where her mother worked cleaning the bathrooms. Others described life in the segregated South, where Black customers were prohibited from trying on shoes before purchasing them. 

    “I do think that Black folks and communities are always going to create a way,” said Dzidzor Azaglo, an artist and activist who helps organize the storytelling luncheon. “They’re always going to build what we need. We’re always going to contribute and speak out of the type of world that we want to live in.”

    During the February service, Bodrick emphasized that reflecting on Black history is also a way to confront present-day inequalities and work toward a more just future.

    “We [have to] keep speaking to the ancestors, so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past, so we don’t misdiagnose the problems of the present, so we don’t shrink our imagination because the God we serve is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can ask,” Bodrick said.

  • SunDay protest held in Wellesley went beyond environmental justice issues

    Anti-Trump protestors co-mingled with demonstrators promoting environmental justice on Sept. 21 in front of Wellesley Town Hall, resulting in a shared event among residents with similar social and political sensibilities.

    SunDay, a national event promoting clean energy and sustainable technologies, attracted approximately 100 people on a Sunday afternoon, representing activists opposed to recent presidential policies and climate advocates. The group occupied the lawn in front of Town Hall and spilled across a public sidewalk.

    Many activists held homemade signs, some of which read, “It’s Science, Stupid,” “There’s No Planet B,” “Defend Democracy,” and “So Many Things, So Little Cardboard.”

    Quentin Prideaux, a board member of Sustainable Wellesley, spoke to the crowd. He said Earth’s health gets worse every day, but hope for the future is embodied in citizen activists like those assembled in Wellesley. “The majority of the population of this country wants renewable energy,” he said. “You are the majority … you can help it happen a little bit faster.”

    At one point, the crowd took up the tune of “Bella Ciao,” an anthem of Italian anti-fascists. 

    “We need to rise up,” protesters sang. “We need to open our eyes and do it now, now, now!”

    Behind the demonstration, two tables offered direct and indirect ways to fight the Trump administration. One table provided postage-paid postcards for participants to write directly to voters in Virginia, encouraging them to vote for progressive initiatives. Another table dispensed multi-colored paper clips in response to journalist E. Jean Carroll’s call for the revival of the paper clip protest, a World War II-era silent dissent against the Nazis. Carroll accused President Trump of sexual assault, and later won an $83.3-million defamation lawsuit against him.

    “We’re losing ground with our ecology, with our freedom…we need to stand up and be counted,” said Wendyl Ross. She sat at the edge of the protest. When asked what it meant to be “counted” she said, “Hopefully that our votes will be counted…that our voices will be recognized.” 

    Ross said she feels grateful to live in Wellesley, where the town government takes care of its citizens and houses a “world-class” recycling area. 

    Sam Hunt had a “No Stupid Kings” sign hung around his neck while holding a cane and an American flag. He said he attended SunDay specifically to protest Trump, and plans on writing a letter to The Boston Globe questioning what he called the newspaper’s unbalanced political coverage of the Trump administration. 

    “Let’s see if they put this on the front page,” he said. 

    Looking into the street, he said it was disappointing not to see more young faces. 

    Wellesley High School junior Jonathan Luu appeared as the second guest speaker. Taking AP Environmental Science, he said, taught him about human impacts on natural ecosystems.

    “Buy less stuff,” he said, accusing many manufacturers of polluting the Earth. Luu suggested people shop at Wellesley Give-and-Take and thrift shops. Hand-me-downs, he said, make ecological and financial sense.   

    Near the end of the day, Raina McManus, a member of Sustainable Wellesley, said the cacophony of voices and opinions added to the impact of the event.

    “If we don’t have a healthy, sustainable planet,” she said, “What’s the point of having a democracy?” 

  • Five state legislators outline strategy to counter Trump administration at Brookline forum

    From left to right: Moderator Tom Hallock, State Senator Cindy Creem, State Representative Tommy Vitolo, State Representative Bill MacGregor, State Representative Greg Schwartz and State Representative Kevin Honan. Photo by Jacqueline Manetta

    Five Democratic state lawmakers advised Brookline residents Monday how to navigate the Trump administration and push back against its policies.

    About 70 people attended the forum, which featured state Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem and state Reps. Kevin Honan, William MacGregor, Greg Schwartz and Tommy Vitolo. It was hosted by the Brookline Democratic Town Committee and Activist Evenings, a progressive group based in Brookline.

    Tom Hallock, treasurer of the Brookline Democrats, asked the legislators questions about essential services, the environment and immigration. The group responded to three audience questions at the end and stayed afterwards to answer one-on-one questions.

    Creem cited the state Senate’s new committee, Response 2025, as a potential solution to the Trump administration’s cuts. The initiative has tasked the bipartisan Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling with finding policy solutions to combat misinformation and protect residents’ rights.

    Keeping political allies in office is one of the most effective ways to fight the executive branch’s polarizing policies, Vitolo said.

    “I think it’s really important in all of the things we talk about tonight to consider the reality that if Governor Healey doesn’t win reelection — or Attorney General Campbell doesn’t win reelection — we are in much worse shape,” he said.

    Schwartz, the only medical doctor in the Massachusetts legislature, said health care programs — and consequently state revenue — will be affected if defunding continues. If the U.S. Senate approves President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” Massachusetts can expect its $14 billion of Medicaid reimbursement to be reduced, he said.

    “That could affect 200,000 to 300,000 patients losing Medicaid and, of course, it will affect the emergency rooms, the primary care physicians and the hospitals, which are already not in great shape,” Schwartz said.

    All five lawmakers emphasized the need for Massachusetts to remain at the forefront of responsible environmental efforts as federal environmental protections roll back. The legislators plan to concentrate on statewide initiatives such as expanding clean energy, increasing accessibility to electric vehicles and strengthening existing policies.

    The lawmakers also discussed immigration, which they identified as a core American principle that must be protected. Honan cited several bills that work to protect the rights of immigrants, including the federal Safe Communities Act, which prevents local law enforcement from asking about immigration status.

    “We say the best Americans represent hard work, taking chances, building a business, finding success, improving yourself and being part of a community,” Vitolo said. “These are all the things we say we value as a country, and the folks who do it best are the immigrants.”

    Before taking questions from the audience, Creem discussed the Massachusetts Data Privacy and Protection Act and its aim to support women’s reproductive health care rights.

    Under the bill, selling location data and other information collected on cellphones and devices would be prohibited. In recent court cases, consumers’ data from apps has been used  to prosecute health care providers and women receiving out-of-state abortions.

    “My hope is that we can protect that data and minimize the use of that data outside of what you intended it to be,” Creem said.

    The audience at a community forum on safeguarding democracy on Monday, Jun 9, 2025. Photo by Jacqueline Manetta

    Asked if the public has a role to play in resisting the Trump administration’s policies, the lawmakers urged residents to engage with opposing viewpoints and point out injustices.

    “Every second Saturday, from 11 to 1 p.m. in Coolidge Corner, we’re out there doing the very public work of reminding folks that this is not normal, and it’s perfectly reasonable to say it out loud,” Vitolo said.

    The audience erupted with applause as the panel of representatives was asked about increasing transparency in the state’s government.

    MacGregor said representatives are candid about financial statements and regularly audited.

    Creem said she posts her votes on social media to communicate with her constituents. The accusation of insufficient transparency has been brought to her attention before, but she said she doesn’t understand what voters mean or where their concerns come from.

    Schwartz, who was elected to his position in 2024, framed problems with transparency as a potential shortcoming of the media.

    The legislators’ answers to the transparency question were met with eye rolling and groans.

    The event closed with a discussion about reforming the Democratic party. Although Honan said he thinks Republicans will cause their own demise, MacGregor and Creem said Democrats must regain popularity with the working class.

    Vitolo and Schwartz agreed their party must find a message that speaks to a larger segment of the population.

    “We on the left like to play demographic bingo with our voters,” Vitolo said. “What they see is a Democratic party picking off little bits and pieces of certain people and saying, ‘That’s what’s important’ instead of saying everybody’s important.”